India

Located in South Asia, India is bordered by China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. The landscape features an upland plateau in the south, an arid desert in the west, and the Himalayan Mountains in the north.

Population:
1,236,686,700

Life Expectancy:
66 years

Access to Safe Water:
92%

School Enrollment:
99%

Land Mass:
1,269,219 sq. mi.

Literacy Rate:
63%

Under Age 5 Mortality Rate:
56/1000

Average Annual Income (GNI):
1,530

Facts about India

In India, 41.6 percent of the population lives below $1.25 a day, and 75.6 percent of the population lives below $2 a day.

21 percent of India’s population suffers from hunger.

Forced labor is a significant problem in India. Millions of men, women, and children are held in debt bondage and forced to work in brick kilns, rice mills, embroidery factories, and other industries. Women and children are also vulnerable to human trafficking.

Though primary school enrollment has been improving, 40 percent of students, mostly girls, drop out by secondary school.

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Progress in India

Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors. World Vision was able to work alongside communities to accomplish the following in 2013.

Formed children’s clubs, conducted youth leadership trainings, and established Child-Friendly Spaces, helping ensure children are cared for, protected, and have a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

Provided bicycles to children who live far from school, helping reduce the drop-out rate by allowing them to get to school safely and quickly.

Supplied solar-powered lamps to orphans and vulnerable children, enabling them to study during the evening hours and do better in school.

Trained farmers in modern agricultural techniques, livestock management, and small business management, equipping them to increase their crop yields.

Conducted tutoring sessions for children in math, science, and English, to help them perform better in school.

Trained healthcare workers and volunteers on ways to provide improved health services to the community, including prenatal and post-natal care.

Implemented feeding programs, providing over 20,000 malnourished children under the age of 5 with supplemental food and teaching parents how to improve their children’s nutrition at home.

Educated mothers and children on proper handwashing techniques, teaching them a simple way to prevent diarrheal disease.

Held workshops for adolescent girls to teach them about personal health, nutrition, and hygiene.

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World Vision in India Today

World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of India to improve their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future of their children, families, and communities. World Vision’s child sponsorship program plays a vital role in this partnership, with donors from the United States sponsoring more than 59,000 girls and boys. In addition to sponsorship, World Vision operates other programs that benefit communities in India. Highlights include:

Supporting 10,425 households for livelihood promotion, contributing to an increase in household income and enabling families to provide nutritious food and better care for their children.

Bringing together police, media, local governments, communities, and NGOs to address the issue of child trafficking.

Supporting 100 schools by building drinking water and toilet facilities, playgrounds, and equipment.

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World Vision History in India

World Vision began work in India in 1953. Child sponsorship began in 1960. Since then, some accomplishments include:

Assisting Indians affected by heavy rains in 1974 with food and shelter.

Responding to the damage done by Pradesh cyclones and floods during the 1980s by providing agricultural assistance, clean drinking water, immunizations, and nutrition programs.

Launching several projects during the 1990s to address the concerns of bonded child labor, street children, AIDS awareness, rehabilitation of commercial sex workers, and the prevention of female infanticide.

Distributing clothes, medicines, kerosene, blankets, food, and more to over 35,000 victims of the December 2004 tsunami.

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Geography & People

Geography and people

Located in South Asia, India is bordered by China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. The landscape features an upland plateau in the south, an arid desert in the west, and the Himalayan Mountains in the north. Three of India’s largest rivers (the Ganges, Indus, and Brahmaputra) originate in the Himalayas.

As the second-most populous country in the world, India supports over 15 percent of the world’s people and contains about 200 ethnic groups. Nearly 75 percent of India’s inhabitants are Indo-Aryan, a mixture of indigenous and either European or Iranian ancestry. Over 337 million people speak the national language of Hindi. Indians use English mostly in political and commercial communications.

Although the effects of poverty in India are widespread, girls often suffer the most. Traditionally, the father gets first choice of the food, followed by his sons, with the leftovers going to his wife and daughters. Girls also often miss out on education, immunizations, healthcare, and other benefits.

Boys may continue to live with their parents after they get married. Girls, however, go to live with their husbands’ families. By law, women cannot wed until they are 21, but in rural communities, families often arrange marriages while the children are quite young.

History

The Hindu culture developed on the subcontinent of India under the Gupta Dynasty in the fifth century A.D. For the next 700 years, Islam slowly spread across the region and blended with Hindu traditions.

By the 1850s, the British controlled most of India and opened trading posts along the western coast. Beginning in 1920, Mohandas K. Gandhi led a mass movement against British rule, using nonviolent resistance to push for independence.

In 1947, the British partitioned the country into two independent states: India (with a Hindu majority) and Pakistan (with a Muslim majority). Since that time, India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir, a northern Muslim region.

India controls two of Kashmir’s three states, while Pakistan controls the remaining state. Both countries supported a cease-fire in 2003, yet several attacks occurred in the past few years, straining relations.

In August 2008, devastating floods in Bihar in eastern India destroyed an estimated 315,000 homes and affected more than 4 million people. In November 2008, terrorists attacked Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The attacks left 200 dead and hundreds injured. In 2009, drought and more floods affected millions of people.

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Prayer Requests for India

For the nearly 2 million people affected by severe drought in some parts of the country.

That girls would have equal access to education and be protected from early marriages and early pregnancy.

That people struggling with hunger and living with HIV and AIDS would receive the help they need.

For the protection and care of vulnerable children, especially for those living on the streets.